Friends That Were
by Clayton Overstreet
Summary: A dragon lives forever, but not so little ponies...


I don't own these characters or profit from them. I do however have many books available for sale if you are interested.

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Friends That Were

By, Clayton Overstreet

Then

Spike was curled up in the cave that overlooked Ponville. His small hoard was piled around him. It was much smaller than those of the other dragons he knew, but that was because he had learned the hard way to control his collecting, choosing instead to keep his friends. Spike was now roughly three times the size of any of the ponies he knew, including Princess Celestia. At the pace he went it had taken several years just for his modest piles of stones.

"Spike?" The most beautiful voice in the world said.

Spike blinked. His mind was wandering. His vision was a little blurry around the edges. It took him a moment to focus, his vision caught by the gold rimmed heart shaped ruby handing around her white neck.

"I'm sorry… I'm trying to stay awake, but I'm… I'm so tired."

"I know Spike. I know you tried, but you can't…"

"I don't want to sleep…" He pushed himself up, but his legs were shaking and he fell with a thump. "I don't want to… leave you." The room was going dark. His lids were closing despite what he wanted.

"I know you don't. But don't worry Spike. I promise, I'll stay here. I'll come every day and…" He heard her sob. "I love you Spike. I love you so much." She curled up against him. He could feel her warmth and the softness of her fur and mane.

Putting his claw around her and holding her like a teddy bear he said, "I know. I love you. Always have." He smiled and said, "Don't worry. A short nap and I'll…" He yawned. "I'll be up again in no time. You'll see."

She forced a smile. He could hear it in her shaking voice. "I know you will Spike. You just… you get some sleep and don't worry."

"Mmm, okay." And then it all faded.

0o0

Now

Spike started to drift from his sleep. It was small at first. Just the barest flicker of consciousness. As if from the end of a long tunnel he could hear voices.

"Princess, are you sure about this? We've come here every day for a month and he hasn't moved," a young voice said.

"Call him Spike," Celestia's voice said. "It's only polite to use someone's name if you are going to speak of them."

"Sorry. But Spike has not moved in a hundred years."

"That's what happens. Spike was young when he reached maturity and had to take his hundred year nap. He was much more active than the average dragon. You remember the song?"

The younger voice said, "Of course. Everyone knows the song of the Twilight Dragon."

"Then sing it."

"Yes… teacher." She cleared her throat.

"Spike the Twilight dragon lived with ponies

And helped the heroes find the Elements of Harmony.

The unicorn known as Rarity

Loved that rascal Spike

And brought him gems of sapphire, emerald, and the like.

Together their friends would travel wherever danger hailed,

Spike was always courageous while the white unicorn whined about her tangled tail.

Even noble princesses Celestia and Luna would bow when near they came,

Diamond dogs would run in terror when Rarity said her name.

Oh Spike the Twilight dragon lived with ponies,

And helped the heroes find the Elements of Harmony.

A dragon lives forever, but not so most ponies,

Not even with magic wings, friendship's sayings, and other wonderful things.

One gray night it happened, Spike could stay awake no more,

And that mighty dragon ceased his fearsome roar.

Rarity's head was bent in sorrow, unicorn tears fell like rain,

Because she knew she'd never see her love awake again.

But she knew it was natural and that her love she could not save,

So every evening for the rest of her days she simply brought a new jewel to his cave.

Oh Spike the twilight dragon lived with ponies,

And helped his cherished friends find the Elements of Harmony.

Spike the Twilight dragon lived with ponies,

And helped those famous heroes find the Elements of Harmony."

Spike turned his heard, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. He saw two silhouettes outlines in the light streaming in through the opening of the cave. It took his slitted reptilian eyes a moment to adjust to the light. "That was pretty. I'd like to hear it again some time." His voice was deeper than he remembered. He sat up and saw the smaller of the two figures dive for cover behind the other. Suddenly his head banged on the ceiling, cracking the stone. "Ow!"

"Careful Spike, you've been asleep for a while."

Looking down he saw a familiar face and bowed. "Princess." He frowned. "You've shrunk."

"You've grown."

Spike looked down at his claws. One of his fingers was bigger than the princess's entire body. "I have!" He looked around. Piled in every direction were gems of every kind, size, and color. "Food!" A moment later he was shoveling them into his mouth. "Yum!" The pile was so big it looked like the entire back of the cave was a sea of jewels.

"It's become a tradition, every year everyone in Equestria brings a new gem for the Twilight Dragon, guardian of the kingdom."

Spike chuckled. "Is that what they call me now? I guess it sounds better than Twilight's Dragon, though I wouldn't have minded."

"You did help save the world a few times," Celestia said. "A bit of respect is to be expected."

Something clinked on his chest scales and he looked down. There, hanging from a giant gold chain, was the heart shaped ruby he had once given to Rarity. The words of the song came back to him and he help the thing in his palm. Even though it was just a tiny spot in his huge scaled palm, it felt like the weight of the world hung there.

"I knew she wouldn't still be alive when I woke up. But I hoped. I thought that she or maybe Twilight would have made it." He looked at Celestia. "Are any of them…?"

"No," she said.

He took a deep breath, smoke billowing out of his nose. "I see." He caught a glimpse of white and purple, moving behind Celestia. "Rarity?"

"Not exactly," the princess said, lowering her wings. "But it is someone who needs to meet you. Come out child, he won't hurt you." The figure was small and looked nervous. "Sorry about this Spike. She's very shy and very young. Her egg only hatched nine years ago."

At first Spike thought it was a young pony. She had the four legs and her head was almost exactly like Rarity's, except her horn was pointed backwards and gold just like her cloven hooves. Her body had some white fur and a purple mane. But from her neck to haunches she also had a layer of pearl colored scales. Her tail was long and reptilian, but thin and with a tuft of long purple hair on the tip. On her haunches was another circle of gold with a ruby heard in the middle, an exact match for the necklace around Spike's neck.

"Karen, say hello to your father."

She looked down at the floor, her knees shaking. "Hello sir."

"Karen?" Spike said, surprised.

"She's a kirin, the offspring of a unicorn and a dragon. Very rare and powerfully gifted." She saw Spike's shocked looked. "If you think you're surprised, imagine how Rarity felt when she laid the egg."

"She didn't know?"

"It takes ten years for a kirin egg to mature enough to be laid. And in the past it was usually a male unicorn and a female dragon. One of Discord's ancestors…"

"I see," spike said, his eyes still on the trembling form of his… daughter. "It's a pleasure to meet you Karen."

"Thank you sir," she said politely. Her voice was a lot like Rarity's too, but without her accent.

"My newest pupil," Celestia told him. "She's even more powerful than Discord, but I like to think my sister and I have been a better influence on her."

"I'm certain of it," Spike said.

Celestia smiled. "I'll speak with you later Spike. In the meantime I'll leave Karen here for you two to get to know each other."

Looking panicked Karen looked up. "Princess?" Celestia gave her a stern look. "Yes Princess." Celestia turned and trotted out of the cave.

It was quiet in the cave. Neither of them seemed sure what to say. Spike could barely believe that this tiny doll-like creature was actually his child. He had never even thought he and Rarity could have children. Then again thinking of what Discord looked like he should have known mixing magical species was not exactly impossible. He would have to go to the library and look up kirin… kirins? Which was the plural?

Likewise Karen was obviously inimidated. Spike could not blame her. His hoard was so huge and so was he. Much bigger than even the other dragons he had seen before. He was glad he did not have wings because he was not sure they would fit. If everyone in the kingdom had been adding to the hoard for years and he'd been alseep and unable to eat any of it, it was no wonder.

"So, I see you have a cutie mark," Spike said.

She nodded. "I was the first in my class to get one. Celestia says it's because I know just want I like doing."

"And that would be?"

"I like making magic talismans and jewelry." She looked up at him and gave a nervous smile.

"Your mother made clothes with gemstones. She could find them anywhere with her magic and she became the most famous designer in Equestria."

Karen's eyes widened. "Really?" She looked down. "All anybody talks about when they mention my mother is how she was part of the group that saved the world. Celestia always said you would tell me about her when you woke up."

"I'd be happy to." He lay down again, putting his giant head by her feet. "Curl up and I'll tell you all about her." He waited while she curled her hooves under her. "I first met Rarity when Twilight and I first moved to Ponyville. Twilight was worried because princess Luna… then known as Nightmare Moon… was going to be released. And Celestia had only told her to make friends and take care of the celebration they had planned for that day. So she was a bit touchy as we went around and met the other ponies."

Spike dragged the story out, telling the full story for that day and all the ponies they met. He could tell Karen mostly wanted to hear about Rarity, but he wanted to tease her a little. "It was love at first sight for me, though not so much for her. I was just a baby dragon after all and she was so busy and… well she was a bit self involved. But when it came down to it you'd never find a more generous pony." He paused. "You know now that you've seen me you probably have some questions about how you were conceived."

"Ew! No!"

"Oh it wasn't that difficult. I just had to…"

"Lalalalalalala! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" He chuckled and she suddenly laughed too. "Um, sir… are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You sound sad, even when you're smiling."

Spike sighed, a burst of flame flying from his nose. "It just… it hurts. To know that I'll never see any of my friends again. That nearly everyone I knew is… gone." He saw a look on Karen's face. "What?"

"I'm the same way. I'm making all these friends in school, even though I look strange. And I've got my neat talent. I even helped save the world."

"You did?"

"Some kids snuck into the castle and destroyed the Elements of Harmony by accident, because they wanted to play with them. It turned out to be a trick by an evil wizard who wanted to steal the magic from Equestria. He was a strange creature called a human. He rounded us all up, but he kept me in a special cage.

"While I was there and he was busy I spoke to his niece, a girl named Megan. She was upset about what her father was doing and we made friends. She tried to talk her uncle out of his evil plans but he wouldn't listen so she let me out and we went to free the others. His guards and monsters started chasing us and while the princesses fought him and them off and we ended up lost in the castle until we found the amulet he was going to use to steal the magic.

"I used it to transfer the lost power of the Elements of Harmony into the locket and gave it to Megan since it could only be used by humans. Some of the other unicorns thought it was a bad idea because she might turn on us, but I trusted her and she used the power to banish her uncle to the forest. He's been trying to come back and do it again ever since, sending monsters and spells, but Megan has stayed and fought him off with us since then."

Spike whistled. "It sounds like you've been pretty busy."

"Yes, but it's so sad when I think of all my friends and how I'm going to… I'm immortal and they aren't. Celestia says that she and Luna try to remember their friends and the happy times they had together."

"I tried not to think about it at all," Spike said. "I suppose that's why most dragons live alone with their hoards. But I couldn't. After you make friends you can't just turn your back on them."

Karen leaned forward and nuzzled his snout with hers. "I'm sorry… father."

"Let's just stick with dad," Spike said.

"If you want there is a place we could go and you could at least see an image of my mother."

Spike nodded. "I'd like that. Lead the way."

O0O

It turned out that Karen could fly. Green dragon flames lit around her hooves and she could actually walk on air the way a pegasus could walk in clouds. He remembered that Discord could fly without wings too. There was probably some trick to it. As he walked on all fours down the mountain side he decided to look that up to. Maybe he could learn to fly as well.

They made it to Ponyville and Spike pretended not to notice while around them the ponies watched the two walk past. They were so small. Even the houses looked like toys and Spike had to watch where he walked just to avoid crushing them. Some ponies had to move carts and stands out of his way just to accommodate one foot. And the words "The Twilight Dragon" were whispered all around him.

"At least I have a cool nickname," Spike said to Karen as she floated near his head.

She smiled. "Celestia says that most of the stories they tell about you are true, but really exaggerated. It's sort of a tradition for kids to…" She trailed off. He raised an eyebrow. "Well they sneak into your cave and touch you."

"Did you do that?"

"No!" She saw him still watching her. "I… I was too scared."

Spike laughed and saw her blush. To save her some embarrassment he said, "This place hasn't changed much."

"The historical society tried to keep it all together."

Finally they reached the open field outside of town where the ponies had always held things like the Iron Pony competition and other games and events for the town. In the distance Spike could see and smell the apple orchards, still maintained like before though he trees were much bigger. Between the trees he could see some ponies working. He saw one male pegasus with red fur and a rainbow mane. Another Earth pony with zebra stripes.

"I think some of my friends may have gotten married."

Celestia suddenly flew past and landed near his front feet. "You'd be right. I thought you might come here. I wanted to be here when you saw this."

Spike turned and saw a fountain, carved from marble. It showed all six of the girls he used to hang out with and himself when he was young, raiding on Twilight's back. Karen was there too standing next to a human girl. Her statue and Rarity's looked almost exactly like the originals except for their manes.

"They added me and Megan a while ago," Karen said. "But I come here all the time to see…"

"To see what your mother looked like," Spike said. He reached out and gently touched the stone image of Rarity. It almost seemed alive. Glancing at Celestia he said, "You didn't…?"

"No," she said. "They're just statues Spike. To honor the memory of the greatest heroes of Equestria." Karen blushed and looked away.

"So what happened? How did they end up?"

"Oh they had a few more adventures. The joys of living in a magical kingdom. Twilight and Fluttershy, as you know, became lovers and stayed together for their days. We found them both dead when they were old, apparently having died at the same time in their sleep. The others all found loves of their own and had families. The records are in the library." She looked up at him. "They were happy Spike. They all missed you terribly, but we all knew you wouldn't want them to cry over you forever."

"No, that's my job," he said.

"I know what you mean."

"What about Rarity? Did she ever meet anyone else?"

Celestia shook her head. "Of course not Spike. After you there was nobody. She always spoke of you in glowing terms as the truest gentleman she ever knew. She loved her friends and when she was alive she took care of Karen's egg until the day she died and entrusted her to me and my sister. But you should know she lived her life fully, every day."

"Of course she did," Spike said. He could see it in his mind. Rarity, the years passing, but her maintaining her dignity. Would she have worried about her looks fading? No, she would have grown old with dignity. "She wore a black lace dress didn't she? After I was gone? Edged with diamonds." Celestia nodded. "She always was a bit of a drama queen. She would have played the noble widow mare to the end." Spike was crying again, though his voice didn't show it. He looked at Karen. "You look a lot like her."

"Are you alright dad?"

"I'll be fine."

Celestia said, "Karen, show your father around town. Later we can have a party at the castle Spike. Some parts of Equestria have changed a lot since you last saw them, especially in Canterlot. And I know a lot of ponies will want to meet you."

"Okay Princess," Karen said. "Come on dad, I'll introduce you to my friend Megan first."

Spike paused, unsure. Meet more people? Learn to love and care about new friends who, in the end, would only leave him again? He was tempted to turn and head back up to his mountain cave and stay there. He knew he now had his daughter and even the princesses. He could meet other dragons.

But then it occurred to him. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and all his other friends. They were all terrific and his time with them had been the happiest of his life. Every minute of his days with them were worth the loss, mostly because of how he felt now that they were gone. If he could just forget about them and go on without feeling the hole they left in his life by not being there then it would not be worth making friends. He saw that Celestia understood that.

"I'd love to meet your friends," Spike said. "Let's go."

Author's Note

It occurred to me that in Dragonshy they showed that dragons habve to take regular century-long naps indicating that a hundred years isn't that much time to a dragon. And most of them seem to spend their time in caves not doing nearly as much as Spike usually spends his time doing. And Applejack's Granny Smith proves that the ponies are not immortal with the exceptions of the princesses who are basically gods. To tell the truth giving them a human lifespan is pushing it.

So eventually Spike would outlive most if not all of his friends. But I decided to let him love and lose rather than never love at all. And the whole kirin thing is true, though the origin of the creature in real life is mere speculation. They are rare, powerful, and mysterious.

All that said, as long as I've got you I have a few questions about the show I'd like to see if you can answer.

When we see the apple trees the apples are all red, but when Applejack piles them in her carts they come in several colors. Any idea why?

I notice that Fluttershy keeps chickens and that the ponies use milk and eggs to make baked goods. Does this mean they are omnivorous? And if so, how does a pony milk a cow? Especially a talking cow. Wouldn't that be awkward for everyone involved? "The first rule of milk club: we don't talk about milk club."

They refer to Equestria as a country, so are there other countries? Is it perhaps a part of Xanth, which would at least explain here those gemstones come from.

If so who/what rules them and do Celestia and Luna move the sun and moon there too?

Anyone ever find out how Megan and her brother and sister actually ended up in the original show or where her locket came from?

Do the ponies have some sort of breeding season that takes place when the show isn't on?

Are the flying unicorn princesses the result of a cross between a pegasus and a unicorn or do they originate from an ordinary Earth pony owned by a woman with a magic sword activated with the magic words "For the honor of Grayskull!"?

Anyone figured out where the Elements of Harmony originated?

Is there any chance we can start an Internet campaign to get the show permission from BBC to use "Doctor Whooves"? Or to let at least 2 of the main female characters date openly the way Spike and Rarity do?

All the other towns and cities that the ponies visit have the ponies there wearing different clothes. Is Ponyville some kind of nudist colony?

Please answer as many as you can.


End file.
